Coming Together
by UnholyUnderBoob
Summary: Very AU. Shelby Corcoran had been raising her kids, Noah, 10 , Rachel, 10 , and Sugar, 7 , alone for the last six years. Now that she is engaged to David Martinez, she and her kids are moving in with him and his daughter, Santana , 4 . A story about how they continue to live their lives as a blended family. Brittana in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Shelby Corcoran had been raising her kids, Noah (10), Rachel (10) and Sugar (7), alone for the last six years. Now that she is engaged to David Martinez, she and her kids are moving in with him and his daughter, Santana (4). A story about how they continue to live their lives as a blended family.**_

_**A/N - Thank you for all of the recent support, it means so much more than you know. The other story that I was planning will be published at some point but, obviously, I'll need to make some changes to it. Thank you.**_

_**Story starts in January 2013. R&R please.**_

Chapter 1

Shelby smiles as she opens the door to the movers, stepping aside to allow them to enter and informing them that there is coffee in the kitchen. Today is a huge day for her, six years after her husband had left her for a man, she is now moving in with her fiance; David. He had been amazing to her and her kids, always so kind and gentle despite the animosity he had faced from Rachel back when he was first introduced to them. David's four year old daughter, Santana, is a different matter. Shelby had spent the last six months attempting to bond with the little girl but had failed miserably. It wasn't that the girl wasn't nice to her or that she misbehaved, she was just quiet and a little reserved. Shelby knows it must be overwhelming for the young child, it had always been she and her father and now she's going to be living with three other children and their mother. Her cell phone vibrates in her pocket and she decides not to answer when she see her Mother's name flash on the screen. The last thing she wants today is her mother inviting herself to help them out today, she's in no mood to be treated like a child today; she's thirty three years old for goodness sake. A car door slamming closed brings her out of her thoughts and she realises she is still standing at the door. She smiles as she watches David walk up the front path, Santana in his arms with her head on his shoulder; fast asleep.

"Hi," David murmurs with a gentle grin, leaning forward to softly kiss his fiance. "Long morning at the park," he chuckles as he motions to his sleeping daughter.

"So I see." Shelby smiles. "Did you guys go to the house?" she asks as she leads him inside.

"Yeah, I dropped some stuff off. How has your morning been?" he asks, regretting the question when he notices the frown on Shelby's face. "That bad, huh?"

"Sugar and Rachel were at each others' throats and Noah was pretty much a zombie." Shelby sighs. "The girls also appealed against the bedroom situation in the new house," she adds with an eye roll.

"We can change it around if you like," David offers. "I'm sure Santana would be okay with sharing a room with one of them." Shelby smiles at his considerate offer but shakes her head.

"This is a big change for Santana as it is. I think it'd be best for her to have her own room, but thank you," she smiles, her smile widening when she notices Santana is awake. The little girl gazes at her blearily as she runs her eyes, a small smile on her lips.

"Hi," she whispers sleepily.

"Hi, honey. Did you get all tired out playing with Daddy at the park?" Shelby asks kindly, chuckling softly when Santana nods and lays her head tiredly back onto David's shoulder.

"I was thinking we could go get some lunch once the movers are done," the man suggests.

"That sounds great, hopefully it won't take too long to get everything moved to the house. Most of the big things went yesterday." Shelby smiles. "Hard to believe it's actually happening, huh?"

"Not that hard, I knew you wouldn't be able to resist me." David grins cockily, leaning over to kiss Shelby, chuckling at the small sound of disgust that comes from Santana.

0-00-0

Shelby sighs inwardly as she takes in her daughters' disgruntled expressions as she helps them unpack in their brand new bedroom. Both girls like their bedroom but neither of them are at all impressed about having to share again. They had shared a room in the old house and they had hoped to get their own bedrooms in this house. It would have been an even bigger drama if either Sugar or Rachel had to share a room with Santana. Not because either of them disliked Santana but because one of them would be majorly jealous if the other one had gotten their own room.

"Mom, tell Sugar to keep her things away from my side," Rachel complains dramatically.

"Rach, we're still unpacking everything. Once we get everything organised and in it's place, Sugar's things will be on her side and yours will be on your side," Shelby explains calmly. She watches as her oldest daughter scowls as she turns back to the boxes she is unpacking. "I'm going to go check on your brother, behave yourselves," Shelby warns, waiting until they both sullenly nod before walking out of the bedroom. She walks down the hall to her and David's bedroom, surprised to find that most of the room has been unpacked, bar a couple of boxes.

"Your shoes," David states as he steps out of the walk-in wardrobe, nodding his head in the direction of the boxes. "I had no idea you had so many, I didn't know where to put them all. Do you even wear all of these?" he asks incredulously

"My shoes are nothing compared to your CD collection, I'm pretty sure you own every album ever recorded," Shelby teases. "Although, I never pegged you as an Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday fan," she adds with a curious edge to her voice.

"I bought those for Santana, she listens to them at bedtime. When she was a baby I would have trouble getting her to sleep, jazz soothed her; still does. If she has a bad dream I usually lay with her while playing one of their albums. Still works like a charm," David smiles.

"You're an amazing father," Shelby smiles, leaning against him as he wraps his arms around her. "Speaking of which, where is Santana? I thought she was helping you," Shelby murmurs, looking around the bedroom and frowning when she doesn't see the little girl anywhere.

"I thought she was helping you," David states in confusion. Shelby winces and pulls out of his arms, leading David out of their bedroom and down the hall. They stop when they hear Santana's adorable giggle coming from Noah's room and they push the door open, smiling when they see Noah lifting Santana up so that she can get the mini basketball into the small net that hangs from his closet door.

"Yeah! Slam dunk!" Noah cheers as he places Santana back on her feet, high fiving the little girl who grins up at him. The boy turns around and gives his mother an apologetic look, assuming she and David are there to tell him off for not making much headway with his unpacking.

"Make sure you're careful," Shelby tells the ten year old with a meaningful glance in Santana's direction.

"I will." Noah nods, taking his responsibility seriously. "Can we go out to the back yard? Just for a little while and then I'll get _all_ of my unpacking done, promise!" Shelby looks around at the bomb site that is her son's room and opens her mouth to say no, catching Santana's gaze.

"Please?" the little girl asks sweetly and Shelby sighs softly, hearing David's low chuckle from behind her.

"Sure. Just half an hour and then back to unpacking," Shelby states.

"Awesome. Let's go, I'll teach you to play soccer!" Noah tells Santana, both of them rushing out of the room. Shelby turns to face her fiance, glaring mockingly at him.

"That's your fault. The Martinez genes in tiny form will be the end of me," the woman chuckles.

"I apologise sincerely," David retorts playfully.

"Is Gloria picking her up from here tomorrow or do you need to drop her off?" Shelby questions as she starts pulling clothes out of Noah's boxes, rolling her eyes at how crushed they are from being stuffed in there at last minute by the boy last night.

"She says she'll pick her up but I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens. To be honest, I'm pretty close to just telling her to stop calling. She keeps promising Santana that she'll spend time with her and then Santana gets upset because she cancels at last minute. I'm always the one that has to clean up her mess," David sighs.

"Well, whatever happens...you won't be handling it yourself anymore."

_**I know some of you will be frustrated that I'm starting a new story but I hope you enjoy it. I will still be updating my other stories while writing this one. Please review.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Thank you for the great reviews for the first chapter, I'm so glad you guys aren't killing me for starting a new story. Hope you enjoy the second chapter :)**_

_**R&R please.**_

Chapter 2

Shelby frowns in confusion as she wakes up to a face full of fur. Opening her eyes, she pushes the offending item away from her face and realises that it is Santana's beloved teddy bear, Ted. Shelby notices the tiny, tanned hand that grips on to Ted's arm and she glances down to see Santana fast asleep between her and David. She smiles softly at the sleeping form of the little girl, her small body tucked firmly up against her Daddy. Shelby winces as the alarm blares, smashing into the peacefully silent room. She quickly turns it off but notices that David is waking up. Luckily, Santana remains sleeping; Dave always said that she could sleep through a bomb going off in her bedroom.

"Morning," Shelby whispers. "Sorry, I forgot to turn the alarm off."

"It's okay," he murmurs, his voice thick with sleep. "What time did Santana get into bed with us?" David asks, blinking heavily.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Shelby responds. "Do you think she's okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine," Dave reassures the woman, glancing down at his sleeping daughter. "First night in a new house, she's still getting used to everything. Don't worry." Dave gazes down at his daughter, smiling softly as she snuggles Ted close to her chest; still fast asleep. His cell phone vibrates loudly on the bedside cabinet and he groans as he reaches across for it and glances at the name flashing on the screen, Gloria. "Hey," he states stiffly in greeting as he holds the phone to his ear. "My birthday was on Wednesday but thanks," he sighs. "No, I'm thirty one." Dave glances at Shelby and rolls his eyes before gesturing that he's going to finish the call downstairs, most phonecalls from Gloria end with yelling so it's for the best. Shelby watches as he carefully rolls out of bed, Santana waking up at the loss of contact from her Daddy despite his best efforts not to wake her. The little girl pouts sleepily as Dave leaves the room before glancing at Shelby shyly.

"Good morning, little one," Shelby smiles. "Did you sleep okay?" she asks, propping herself up on her elbow and looking down at the groggy girl.

"I had a bad dream," Santana whispers, puffing out her bottom lip in an adorable pout.

"You did? I'm sorry to hear that. You should have woken us up if you were scared, it's still okay to do that," Shelby tells her. "You know that, right?" Santana's hesitant nod tells Shelby that no, Santana didn't already know that. "Whenever you need something you can come to me as well as your daddy. Noah, Sugar and Rachel will always help you too. We're a family, sweetheart," Shelby murmurs with a soft smile.

"Okay," Santana says softly, a small smile pulling at her lips.

"Mom! Santana's not in her bedro..." Noah skids to a halt in front of the bed, relieved to see that Santana is with his mom. Shelby smiles affectionately at her son, completely in love with the fact that he is so protective of Santana. "Hi," Noah grins as he sits down on the bed, holding his arms out to Santana for a hug. Shelby chuckles softly when the tiny girl scrambles onto his lap and throws her little arms around his neck before shyly kissing his cheek.

"Count yourself lucky, Noah never gives me hugs like that," Shelby tells Santana teasingly, laughing when the girl giggles cutely. "What are the girls up to?" she asks Noah.

"Rachel is running laps around the backyard, Sugar is still sleeping," he replies with an eyeroll. Shelby sighs, she had told Rachel several times to wait until an adult was downstairs before going outside and Dave had only been down there for a couple of minutes; Rachel has most likely been outside for longer than that. Shelby looks up as Dave walks back into the room, a deep frown on his face.

"Noah, why don't you take Santana downstairs and get you guys some juice," Shelby suggests. "And tell Rachel to get her butt inside," she adds. Noah nods without arguing, sensing that his Mom and Dave need to talk in private.

"Gloria cancelled," David sighs once the kids are out of earshot. "She said that she has plans with a friend and that she'll see Santana another time. I knew she would do this, she always does. All she has to do is hang out with her daughter, it's not hard; Santana isn't a difficult child," he rants before sitting down on the edge of the bed and rubbing his hand across his face.

"I'm sorry," Shelby murmurs as she scoots across to sit next to him, her arm around his waist. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Dave sighs heavily. "I'm fine but Santana won't be. I don't know how to tell her that her Mom is cancelling on her..again," he mutters. Shelby shakes her head in disappointment, how could anyone look at that little girl and not want to spend time with her; it doesn't make sense to her.

"She'll be sad but we can make sure she still has a nice day, we can go out somewhere as a family. Maybe to the aquarium? It would take her mind off it and I think she'd enjoy it, we'd all enjoy it," Shelby shrugs.

"That sounds like a great idea, babe," Dave smiles. "Thank you," he adds, turning to kiss her softly. "I'll go talk to her and I'll start making breakfast," he sighs, kissing her again before standing up.

"And I'll drag Sugar out of bed," Shelby replies.

"Literally?"

"Most likely." Shelby chuckles, rolling her eyes. "You know, Noah seems to have taken a shine to Santana, he ran in here worried as hell because she wasn't in her bedroom."

"Well, he's a good big brother," Dave smiles. He winks at his fiance as he grabs his tank top, slipping it on so that he is no longer just in his sweatpants. "See you down there," he states before making his way down to the kitchen that still has a few boxes littered around it. He smiles when he finds Santana sitting at the table while Noah strains to reach a box of cereal. Dave glances through to the livingroom and spots Rachel digging through one of the boxes in there but decides not to interrupt her. "Have a seat, buddy, I'll make everyone some proper food," Dave tells him ruffling his short hair. "Hey, sweetheart," he murmurs as he kisses the top of Santana's head. "How would you like to go to the aquarium today?" he asks kindly, crouching down beside her seat.

"What about Mommy? Won't she be sad?" Santana asks softly, a small frown gracing her features.

"Well, Mommy can't hang out with you today anymore. She has other things to do but she says she's really sorry and that she loves you," Dave murmurs gently.

"But Mommy said she wouldn't change her mind on Sundays no more," the little girl murmurs sadly. "She promised."

"I know, baby girl. I'm sorry. We can still have lots of fun today though, we're all gonna go to the aquarium and see lots of awesome stuff," Dave smiles, feeling as though his heart is breaking when his little girl gazes back at him with big, brown eyes that are filled with tears.

"There's sharks at the aquarium, San! Lots of them! Really big ones like Bruce from Finding Nemo!" Noah suddenly says. "They come really close to the glass and I bet we could get a picture with one!" he states seriously and Dave grins when he notices Santana's awestruck expression.

"Really?!" the girl asks. "Could we get a picture please, daddy?" she pleads with wide eyes.

"Of course," Dave smiles, shooting Noah a grateful wink that causes the ten year old to beam proudly. "Maybe we can buy a toy shark to keep Ted company too," the man suggests, laughing at the look of pure excitement on Santana's face. "Go ask Ted if he'd like that," he urges her, shaking his head in amusement as the girl leaves the kitchen as fast as she possibly can without breaking the no running in the house rule. "Nice work, buddy," Dave praises Noah, holding out his hand for a high five; Noah happily complying.

"Is she gonna be okay?" the boy asks quietly.

"Yeah, of course. Especially now that she's got you looking out for her."

_**To be continued.. Thank you for reading :) Reviews are greatly appreciated.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Thank you for the reviews for the last chapter, I am so grateful to all of you!**_

_**I know a few people have questions about future pairings and other things, I'll answer any questions you have on tumblr :) NayaFanFF.**_

_**New Twitter = NayaFanUUB**_

_**R&R please.**_

Chapter 3

Sugar frowns as she watches her big brother point out a starfish to Santana, the little girl firmly holding Noah's hand as she stands on her tiptoes to gaze into the large tank. She glances at her Mom and David, rolling her eyes as they whisper to each other with loved up expressions on their faces, both of them occasionally looking over at Santana to ensure she's alright. Sugar's frown deepens as Santana and Noah call Rachel over to them, pointing out the starfish to the star obsessed diva. The seven year old moves to stand at the large tank, a few feet away from the others, and stares dejectedly into the water, completely uninterested in the small fish. Hearing Santana's quiet giggle, she turns to look at the tiny girl and she sighs sadly. Sure, Santana's cute but why is she getting all of the attention? Sugar's cute too, her Mommy always tells her that. She jumps in surprise when she feels a warm hand on her shoulder, glancing up to see Shelby standing behind her.

"Are you alright, honey? You seem a little quiet." Shelby murmurs to her quietly.

"I'm fine, Mommy." Sugar responds, though her response comes a little too quickly for Shelby's liking.

"How come you're not standing with your brother and sisters?" the woman questions gently, already having an idea of what is bothering her.

"Santana's not my sister." Sugar retorts, though not unkindly. Shelby sighs and leans forward with her arms resting on the edge of the tank, bringing herself closer to her daughter's level.

"Well...we're gonna be a family, babe. We kinda already are. I know it's hard not being the youngest anymore but it doesn't mean you're gonna be treated or loved any differently. I would think it would be pretty cool to be a big sister, I always wanted a brother or sister when I was your age." Shelby explains kindly.

"Really?" Sugar questions quietly, looking up at her mother in surprise.

"Oh yeah. I would have loved to have been a big sister. Having someone who thinks you're awesome and looks up to you, that's pretty cool." Shelby grins. Sugar looks over at Santana while deep in thought, eventually sighing and gazing back at Shelby.

"Well...I guess she's pretty cute," Sugar finally states and Shelby chuckles. "Maybe I'd be okay with being her big sister"

"It's a big job, are you sure you'd be up for it?" Shelby asks, her eyes glinting with amusement. She knows that by challenging the girl, it'll make her more determined.

"Yes, Mommy! I'm going to be an awesome big sister!" Sugar retorts and her mother smiles.

"Remember, if you ever feel a little left out or sad then you can come to me or David, we're both here for all of you. It's gonna take some time for everyone to get used to it but I think we can do it, don't you?" the woman questions softly. Shelby smiles when Sugar nods sincerely and she bends down to softly kiss her child's cheek and smooth down her hair.

"Sugar, come and see the starfish!" Noah calls out, gesturing for his little sister to join them.

"Is she okay?" David asks as she approaches his fiance, wrapping his muscly arms around her from behind.

"Yeah, she's fine. She just needed some reassurance. How's Santana doing?" Shelby questions as she leans back against him.

"She'll be fine. I'm not gonna let Gloria tell her in advance about any plans she makes for them anymore, I'll tell Santana when her Mom actually turns up..if she ever does." David sighs. "I can't bear to see her do this again, she's so quiet and shy already..I don't want her to go inside herself." he adds.

"You won't let that happen..._we_ won't let that happen." Shelby reassures him. "Gloria is missing out on so much and that's her fault and Santana will always be loved and looked after by us. Try not to worry so much, kids are resilient..especially when they have so many people to look out for them." she adds, nodding her head in the direction of Santana and the other kids.

0-00-0

Shelby smiles softly as she helps Santana into her booster seat in the middle seat of her mini van, the girl thanking her quietly. Shelby is surprised when Noah climbs in on the other side and sits next to Santana, normally he'd sit in the back on his own with his headphones on. She's glad when Rachel sits next to Sugar in the back, especially since Sugar had gotten a little down at the aquarium. Shelby is convinced she's going to regret all the candy she had given the kids to eat in the car but at least it'll keep them quiet on the ride home. She hands Santana her new stuffed toy, a shark that she has named Bruce, and makes sure that the others still have everything they had bought from the gift shop before climbing into the front passenger seat.

"My sister wants us to have dinner at her place. Would you be okay with that or do you want to go home?" Dave asks his fiance as he looks up from his cell phone. Shelby sighs inwardly before forcing a smile to her face and nodding.

"Dinner with your sister sounds great." she states, noticing that Santana almost starts bouncing in her seat at the thought of seeing her beloved aunt Maribel.

"Alright, cool." Dave smiles, leaning over the centre console to kiss Shelby before settling back into his seat and starting the car. Shelby instantly regrets saying yes, already feeling the beginnings of a stress headache coming on. It's not that she dislikes Maribel, except..well, she kinda does. She's not an unkind person, in fact, she's quite the opposite but she's a little...overbearing. Maribel is thirteen years older than David and is, of course, extremely protective and always convinced that she knows best, more like a mother than a sister. "I think my mom is gonna be there too, I should have shaved this morning." Dave murmurs, causing Shelby to chuckle.

"Abuela's gonna tell you off." Santana giggles.

"I think you might be right, baby girl." Dave laughs. Shelby breathes a silent sigh of relief, Dave and Maribel's mother seems to love her, probably because she's the opposite of Gloria.

"What does Abuela mean?" Sugar asks curiously, her eyebrows scrunching together in confusion.

"It means Grandmother in spanish." Dave informs her with a smile. Shelby rolls her eyes when, as expected, Sugar starts asking how to say a lot of different words in spanish, knowing that the rest of the journey will be spent this way. She sighs softly and closes her eyes, deciding to squeeze a small nap in while Sugar bombards Dave with questions.

0-00-0

"Babe, we're here." Shelby groans as Dave gently shakes her awake, the man smiling sweetly at her. "Are you sure you want to stay for dinner? We can just go home if you're tired." he adds.

"No," Shelby murmurs, "it's fine. The kids all adore Maribel, they're excited to see her." she smiles, stifling a huge yawn. Dave nods and winks, blissfully unaware that his fiance isn't exactly comfortable around his sister. Shelby groans softly and tries to rub the stiffness out of her neck as she slides out of the car, narrowly missing being knocked over by an excited Santana as she sprints to her favourite aunt's front door.

"Mom?" Shelby turns to face Rachel, noticing the look of concern on her oldest daughter's face.

"Yeah, honey?"

"Can we please be home by seven? There's a Barbra Streisand biopic on tv tonight and I really don't want to miss it." Rachel states seriously and Shelby rolls her eyes, she had been expecting Rachel to tell her something really bad.

"Rach, we're not rushing home just so you can watch something on tv," Shelby sighs. "I'm sure it will be on again sometime." she adds, taking her hand and leading the girl to the house, ignoring the majorly dark look on her face.

"Hola cariño." they hear Maribel state sweetly and they walk into the house to find Santana in her aunt Maribel's arms. Shelby throws Rachel a warning look when the girl closes the front door with more force than necessary before following Noah into Maribel's kitchen. "Hey there, Shelby," Maribel says, smiling. "There's fresh coffee in the kitchen. I'll be right there, I'm just taking Santana to the bathroom," she adds. Shelby nods with a polite smile and makes her way to the kitchen, wondering why Maribel is taking her, Santana is more than capable of going herself.

"...it makes you look homeless." Shelby swallows her chuckles as she walks into the kitchen to hear the end of Alma's speech about Dave's five o'clock shadow. "Hello there, dear," Alma says kindly when she notices her son's fiance.

"Hi, Alma." Shelby greets, accepting the mug of coffee Dave hands to her with a smile. She sits down next to Rachel, sighing softly when she scoots her chair away from her mother. "Rachel, knock it off," Shelby whispers to her. "The world doesn't revolve around Barbra Streisand." Rachel stares at her mom with an indignant expression on her features, as though Shelby had just kicked a puppy.

"Well, it should." Shelby sigh and shakes her head at her daughter's bitter response, choosing not to get into another Barbra related argument with her, at least not while they're visiting people. She glances over at Sugar who is sitting on Alma's lap and telling her all about the aquarium and she smiles, glad that Sugar seems to be feeling much better about things.

"Shut up, Rach." Noah grumbles, he had never understood his twin's obsession with Streisand.

"Noah, don't tell your sister to shut up," Shelby scolds. She glances at Dave who is watching Noah and looking thoughtful.

"Why don't we go and throw the ball around outside, buddy, "Dave suggests, realising that the boy probably needs a break from his sisters. Noah nods and stands up, following his soon-to-be step-dad out of the kitchen, waiting patiently while the man digs through the hall closet.

"Are you boys heading out to the yard?" Dave looks up to see Maribel descending the stairs, carrying Santana.

"Yeah. You know, Santana can walk," her brother says pointedly. "And she can go to the bathroom by herself." he adds.

"I know how to look after kids, David, I have raised two..I'm sure you remember your nephews," Maribel replies teasingly.

"I'm just saying, she's old enough to go to the bathroom herself, you don't need to coddle her." Maribel just waves off her little brother, continuing into the kitchen with Santana. "Alright, buddy, let's go." Dave grins, brandishing the football he had just dug out from the closet. Noah silently follows him out to the back yard and they both throw it back and forth for a few minutes before either of them speak. "It sucks being surrounded by girls all the time, huh?" Dave states.

"Yeah, I guess," Noah shrugs. "They're cool, they're just..girly," he adds, causing Noah to chuckle.

"Well, I guess we need to make sure we always schedule in some guy time. Especially after being out with the girls all day," the man says. "Would that help?" he asks, grinning when Noah frantically nods. "Alright, we'll do that then."

"Maybe we could go to a Browns game?" Noah asks slyly.

"Definitely! We will definitely do that," Dave beams, relieved that Noah is willing to spend some time with him on his own.

"I can still teach Santana how to play soccer though, right?" the ten year old asks unsurely.

"Of course. I don't think Santana would let you back out of that promise," Dave laughs. Noah grins at him and throws the football as accurately as he can, a lot more relaxed now that he is getting a break from his sisters.

_**To be continued...Thank you for reading. Reviews are greatly appreciated :)**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Thank you for all of your great reviews for this story so far. I have so much planned for this family, I really hope you guys stick around for it.**_

_**A huge thank you to Brittana Fan for her help regarding Brittany's parents, I think (hope) you guys will like them! :)**_

_**A/N - So yeah, I'm back. Sorry to those who have been waiting a long time for updates but, I'm sure you understand why I needed to take some time away from the site. I have a very detailed plan for updating, that I am determined to follow, so if any of you have any questions about updates for any story then feel free to ask me on tumblr. **__**NayaFanFF.**_

_**R&R please.**_

Chapter 4

Shelby pulls her jacket further around her body in an attempt to fight off the bitter cold of early February. Maribel had called her at work a little while ago to explain that she was sick and couldn't pick Santana up from preschool and, luckily, Shelby didn't have a class during the last period on Mondays. Now, she has twenty minutes to grab Santana and get back to Carmel in time for glee rehearsals, otherwise the kids will all slack off. Shelby smiles as she reaches the preschool just as the bell rings and she slows down slightly as she pulls open the door, making her way to Santana's classroom. Other parents and their kids squeeze passed her as she walks into the classroom, spotting Santana at the far end of the room with a little blonde girl. Shelby grins as she approaches them, nodding a greeting to the frazzled teacher as she does so. Santana looks up as Shelby stops beside her, grinning up at her with slight confusion in her large, dark eyes.

"Where's abuela?" she asks, tilting her head curiously.

"She's sick today, honey, so you're coming to yell at the kids in my glee club," Shelby says with a smile. She notices the little blonde girl watching her carefully and she kneels down to Santana and the girl's level. "Hey there, what's your name?"

"Brittany." Shelby smiles at the girl's small, shy voice.

"She's my best friend," Santana says matter of factly, a huge grin on her face.

"She is, huh?" Shelby smiles. "That's awesome. Maybe we can talk to Brittany's parents and see if she can come and play at our house sometime," she suggests, grinning when both four year olds' faces light up.

"Mommy!" Shelby watches as Brittany sprints across the classroom, throwing herself into the waiting arms of a tall blonde woman. She goes to follow the tiny blonde but is stopped by the teacher who beckons her over.

"She's gone," Santana murmurs sadly.

"Don't worry, honey, I'll talk to her mom tomorrow," Shelby reassures her before making her way over to the teacher's desk. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes. Sorry, Ms Corcoran, I just wanted to have a little word with you about Santana," the teacher states quietly, well aware of Santana watching them curiously. "She's been a little sluggish today, I think she's coming down with something." Shelby sighs and glances over at her fiance's young daughter, noticing that the tiny girl does look a little pale.

"Her aunt is sick today, Santana was with her yesterday," Shelby murmurs, the teacher nodding with sympathy in her eyes.

"If she is coming down with something..."

"I know. Sickness spreads pretty quickly in this place," Shelby nods. "We'll keep an eye on her and we'll keep her home if we need to," she adds.

"Thank you."

"Not a problem," Shelby smiles. "You ready to go?" she asks, turning to face Santana who instantly takes her hand. She leads the young girl out of the classroom and along the brightly decorated hallway, frowning when she feels how clammy Santana's hand is. "You feeling okay, honey?"

"I'm sleepy and my head hurts a little," Santana pouts sadly.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, honey," Shelby pours sympathetically. She decides she's just going to take Santana straight home and call work to tell them to send the glee kids home.

"Can we go see daddy?" Santana asks quietly, wincing against the cold as Shelby leads her outside.

"Uh, I think daddy will be busy but we can call him as soon as we get home and then..." Shelby's cell phone interrupts her and she digs into her purse with one hand while keeping a firm hold on Santana with the other. "Hello?... Yes, this is she...uh huh...I see." Shelby sighs softly. "Okay, I'm on my way. Thank you." She ends the call and frowns deeply while scooping Santana into her arms. "We have to go collect Sugar from school before we go home, she's not feeling very good either," Shelby explains while Santana lays her head on the woman's shoulder, a pout pulling at her lips. Shelby quickly walks across the parking lot, wanting to get Santana out of the cold as soon as possible. She helps the four year old into her booster seat before sliding into the driver's seat and turning the heating up full blast. The tiny sneeze that comes from Santana causes her to wince as she realises that she and Dave are going to have two sick kids on their hands.

"I don't feel good," Santana whispers, frowning softly.

"I know, sweetheart. I'm gonna get you home as soon as I can, okay?" Shelby reassures her as she backs out of the parking space. "We just need to get Sugar. We'll be home really soon."

"Okay," Santana whimpers, leaning her head against the back of her seat and tiredly gazing out of the window. Shelby catches her bottom lip in her teeth as she drives, praying that Rachel and Noah aren't coming down with something as well. She glances in the rear view mirror every few minutes, noticing that Santana has fallen asleep by the fourth time she looks, the girl's thumb firmly in her mouth. Traffic is pretty quiet and it doesn't take them long to reach the elementary school. Shelby parks and gently pulls a sleeping Santana into her arms, the tiny girl stirring slightly and grumbling incoherently into Shelby's shoulder.

"It's okay, go back to sleep, I've got you," Shelby murmurs soothingly. Shelby quickly makes her way into the school and receives a 'guest' badge from the receptionists who coo over the adorable four year old asleep in her arms. The janitor offers to show her to the nurse's office and she silently follows him through the hallways. Thanking the man, she steps into the nurse's office and smiles kindly at Sugar as the girl sits on the edge of the bed.

"Hi, mommy."

"Hey, baby girl, how are you feeling?" Shelby asks softly, smiling at the nurse as she hands over the necessary form for her to sign.

"Really sick," Sugar whimpers with a pout. "Is Santana okay?"

"Yeah, she's okay, she just feels a little unwell too," Shelby murmurs. "You ready to go, babe?" She smiles softly as Sugar jumps down from the bed and takes her hand, sending the nurse another smile and a quiet goodbye before leading Sugar back out the way she came. She decides that it's probably best to go and visit David at the hospital when she hears Sugar's wheezing breaths and constant sniffling, knowing that he will make sure one of the doctors he works with checks both girl's out; being engaged to a nurse definitely has it's perks.

"Mommy, my throat really hurts and Rachel still made me practice singing with her at recess," Sugar complains. "She said I was a baby for not wanting to."

"You're not a baby, honey. Nobody wants to sing when their throat hurts, I'll talk to Rachel when she gets home, okay?" Shelby reassures her daughter.

"Okay. Are we going home? Can I watch tv in your bed?" Sugar asks hopefully.

"I want you guys to see a doctor first and then we'll go home and I'll get you and Santana set up in my bed with a movie," Shelby states quietly as Santana stirs in her arms. She winces when Santana coughs, feeling it rattle through the girl's little body. "Are you okay, little one?"

"It hurts," Santana whimpers. Shelby frowns in sympathy, wishing it was her that was sick rather than the two little girls. "I want my daddy."

"We're gonna go see him right now, we'll be there soon," Shelby reassures her. By the look on Santana's face, soon isn't quick enough for her and her big, brown eyes fill with tears.

"It's okay, I'll look after you," Sugar states seriously and Shelby can't help the smile that pulls at her lips.

"Yeah?" Santana lifts her head from Shelby's shoulder to gaze blearily at Sugar, the tiniest of smiles on her face.

"Yep," Sugar replies with a determined nod, "that's what a good big sister does."

_**To be continued...Thank you for reading. Please review.**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Thank you for all of the great reviews for this story so far and I apologise for the long wait for this chapter!**_

_**R&R please.**_

Chapter 5

Shelby lets out a sigh as she leads Santana and Sugar into the emergency room, Santana looking around wildly for her daddy as soon as they are through the doors. The place is packed, and Shelby is relieved that she had called David while they were on their way, knowing that he'd make sure a doctor sees the girls pretty quickly. She grips tightly to both of their hands and makes her way to the nurses' station, smiling when she spots someone that she recognises. Shelby waits patiently while the nurse finishes up speaking to a disgruntled patient, murmuring to Santana and Sugar that they'll be home soon.

"Hey, Shelby," the nurse eventually greets. "You hear to spend Dave's break with him?"

"Hey, Sandra," Shelby smiles. "No, unfortunately I have two sick little girls on my hands, David said to bring them here rather than try to get an appointment with our regular doctor," she explains.

"Oh no," Sandra frowns in sympathy, "come on, I'll find you guys an exam room and start their charts," she states, gesturing for Shelby and the girls to follow her. Shelby smiles gratefully and urges the girls to keep up with Sandra while the nurse looks for the nearest empty exam room. "Okay, here we go," Sandra smiles, leading them into an exam room.

"Mommy, there's other people in here," Sugar mumbles, frowning at the two other patients. Shelby hushes her and gives Sandra an embarrassed smile.

"Well, see that's why there's curtains," Sandra informs Sugar kindly, pulling the curtain around to give them some privacy. "I'll go find David, and a doctor for you guys, I doubt they'll need gowns," she explains.

"Alright, thank you, Sandra," Shelby replies gratefully as the nurse leaves to go find David. She lifts both girls up and sits them on the bed. "Don't worry, we'll be home soon and we can put a movie on in my room," Shelby murmurs softly. She smiles sadly at Santana when she notices the tears in the little girl's eyes and she leans forward to cup Santana's face. "You don't like hospitals, huh?"

"No," Santana whispers, her bottom lip wobbling.

"You're being such a brave girl. Don't you think so, Sugar?" Shelby says kindly, brushing a stray tear from Santana's cheek with the pad of her thumb.

"Very brave," Sugar nods, earning a weak smile from Santana. Shelby smiles warmly and gently kisses each of them on the forehead. She watches them interact while slyly checking her watch and worrying about the next few days, trying to work out how to keep their two sick children away from their two healthy children. Shelby tries to stay patient, knowing that the emergency room is busy, which means David is busy but with two increasingly fussy, unwell kids on her hands it becomes almost impossible to stay calm. She just wants to get them out of here and into bed before Noah and Rachel come home from school.

"Sorry, it's crazy busy today," David apologises as soon as he enters the room, chastely kissing Shelby on the lips in greeting before turning his attention to Santana. "Hey, baby girl," he coos, kissing her forehead and then doing the same to Sugar.

"It's fine," Shelby smiles.

"How are you? Are you feeling okay?" David asks as he sits down inbetween Santana and Sugar, both girls leaning into his side as he puts an arm around each of them.

"Yeah, I feel fine," Shelby assures him.

"Are you sure? You look a little peaky," David murmurs in concern, chuckling when Shelby narrows her eyes at him. "Sorry, you know what I mean," he grins, leaning forward and laying his palm on Shelby's forehead. "Actually, you do feel a little warm."

"Is mommy sick, too?" Sugar asks with a frown. How can her mommy take care of her if she is sick as well!

"Maybe," David replies with a furrowed brow and Shelby sighs, it's going to be a long few days.

0-00-0

Shelby groans as a violent cough rattles through her chest, her whole body aching from the force of it. She adjusts the breathe right strip on her nose and sniffles loudly, rubbing Sugar's back as she, too, falls victim to a coughing fit. For two days, she and Santana and Sugar had been stuck in bed, and it just plain sucks. She glances to her other side and smiles at the sight of Santana fast asleep, her mouth wide open as she wheezes. Shelby gently reaches down and peels off the breathe right strip from Santana's little nose, it's obviously not helping her.

"Mom?" Shelby glances over at the door, rolling her eyes when she sees Rachel standing there, holding a cloth over her mouth and nose. "Have you seen my gold belt? The one with the stars on it," Rachel asks, watching her sick mother and sisters warily, as though expecting them to jump up and rub germs all over her.

"No, sorry," Shelby rasps. "Have you asked David or Noah if they have seen it?"

"They're boys, mom," Rachel scoffs, "They barely know how to spell the word fashion."

"Rachel, don't be rude," Shelby scolds. "People don't need to know about fashion to tell you if they've seen a belt or not." Shelby would hardly call her oldest daughter's choice of clothes fashionable, but if Rachel likes it and wants to call it that, then Shelby is happy to let her believe it.

"Can't you help me look for it, mom?" Rachel demands, a deep frown etched on her features. Shelby sighs and raises her eyebrows at her, shaking her head.

"Rachel, please can you ask your brother or David to help you?" Shelby asks.

"Mom, please! You'd help if Santana or Sugar asked you," Rachel pouts, clearly jealous of the attention the two sick girls are receiving from Shelby, forgetting that Shelby is also sick.

"Go have another look in your bedroom, if you really can't find it then I will come and help you," Shelby relents, sighing when Rachel groans and stomps back out of the bedroom. Shelby had thought it would be hell if Rachel and Noah had gotten sick as well but, now she realises it's going to be hell anyway. Rachel had never been great when it came to sharing her things and now it seems that she's even worse when it comes to sharing her mom...even with the siblings she already had. Sighing heavily, she carefully climbs out of bed, the whole room spinning and makes her way to Rachel's room. She can hear the girl grumbling under her breath about life being unfair and it causes her to roll her eyes, an action that hurts her whole head. "Rachel, it's just a belt...do you really need it?" Shelby questions tiredly as she trudges into the bedroom that Rachel and Sugar share.

"David is taking Noah and I out, I want to look nice," Rachel whines.

"There's no need to worry about that," David states as he steps into the room behind Shelby, his arm wrapping around her waist to help steady her. "We're only going to the movies and, besides, you're gonna show us guys up anyway. You'll be the prettiest young lady there," he explains kindly. Rachel beams at him, a slight blush colouring her face and neck.

"Well, I guess I can just go without a belt," Rachel reasons.

"Yeah, you look great already," David promises. "I'm just going to help your mom back into bed and then we can leave, alright? Noah said you always take forever to get ready, let's prove him wrong."

"Okay," Rachel grins, she loves having an opportunity to prove her brother wrong. Shelby leans into David's side as he walks her back to their bedroom, praying for the world to stop spinning. He chuckles lightly as she stumbles and tightens his arm around her, pressing a soft kiss to her temple.

"That was very sweet of you," Shelby notes. "And it's good of you to take them out, I think they were about to go crazy from being trapped in the house all day."

"You don't have to thank me for taking the kids out, we're a family now. It's not like I'm babysitting," David shrugs. "What are you even doing out of bed? You could have just called me to come up."

"I assumed Rachel was gonna throw some sort of tantrum," Shelby sighs, "she usually does."

"Well, you just concentrate on getting better. You told the girls that they needed to rest, take your own advice," David murmurs, helping Shelby onto their bed. "I'll call you later to see how you guys are doing," he adds, pressing a kiss to Shelby's forehead before doing the same to Sugar and Santana.

"No kisses...I'm sick," Sugar grumbles, scooting away from her mother and rolling onto her side.

"She doesn't like to be touched when she's sick," Shelby explains to David with a pout. All she wants to do is hug her babies when they're sick, and none of them want her to...not even Rachel.

"Santana's the opposite," David states, "so you'll still get lots of snuggle time," he grins. "Call if you need anything. I love you," he smiles, standing up and heading to the door of the bedroom.

"Love you, too."

_**To be continued... It's short, I know, just setting up for some drama in the next chapter!**_

_**Please review.**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**Thank you for all of the reviews for the last chapter - I appreciate your feedback!**_

_**R&R please.**_

Chapter 6

"No, Glora, listen to what I'm saying! Santana's sick, it's best if she stays here. No, I'm not saying you can't see her. I've never said you couldn't see here, the only reason you haven't seen her in weeks is because you keep don't you come here if you want to spend some time with her? She's been sick for days, today is the first day this week that she hasn't spent the whole day in bed. No, she hasn' been out, she's been laying on the sofa...Gloria, just listen to what I'm saying! Gloria? Gloria?" Dave sighs, realising Gloria has hung up on him. He dumps his cell phone down onto the kitchen table with a clatter and leans against the counter, his arms folded across his chest.

"I don't know why you put up with her," Alma sighs from her place at the table, shaking her head in disapproval.

"Ma, she's Santana's mother," David replies calmly.

"She sure doesn't act like it. I thought you both agreed on days that she could have Santana," Alma states.

"We did, every second weekend."

"And when was the last time she actually had Santana for the weekend? Or even just for a few hours?" Alma questions, "why should you have to do what she says?"

"It's just easier, ma. It's not about Gloria, it's about Santana. She wants to see her mom, I can't stop her," David argues.

"You're not stopping her! You give Gloria every opportunity to see Santana. It's not your fault that she keeps cancelling. Even Noah knows that Gloria is in the wrong. If a ten year old boy can understand it, then so should Gloria," Alma says in annoyance. "You let Gloria dictate your life, you have custody of Santana; you should be making the decisions."

"It's complicated, ma," David sighs.

"You allow her to make it more complicated than it needs to be." Alma goes to say more but stops herself when Noah wanders into the room. "Did you find your jersey?" she asks kindly.

"Yeah, it was in the guest room," Noah replies, lifting his sweater to show her the Browns jersey he had changed into.

"Looks like we're all set," David smiles, pushing himself off of the counter and lifting his cell phone from the table. "You're you don't mind collecting Rachel from her dance class?" he double checks with his mother.

"Of course I don't mind. There's no point in Shelby having to drag the girls out into the cold when they're all still sick. She can play with her little friend from next door, and I'll make sure she's safely on the school bus in the morning," Alma nods. "Now, go, enjoy your game. I'll take some soup over to Shelby and the girls in a little while."

"It's not a game, it's a stadium tour and you don't need to do that."

"I want to," Alma waves David off. "Goodbye," she states pointedly. Noah smiles sweetly at Alma and kisses her cheek before jogging after David who is already outside. Guy time is his favourite, just him and David doing something together. He loves his mom and sisters, but it's nice to get out of the girl majority atmosphere sometimes. Noah climbs into the back of the car, grinning as David turns the music up full blast. His mom would hardly ever play it this loud, and if she did Rachel would still sing louder than the cd.

"Alright, you ready?" David calls over the loud music, grinning when Noah eagerly nods. David loves guy time just as much as Noah does.

0-00-0

Shelby places a blanket over Sugar as the child sleeps on the sofa, gently tucking it underneath her chin and placing a soft kiss to her forehead. She sighs heavily and slumps down into one of the armchairs, still feeling pretty run down herself. Flicking through the channels, Shelby settles on an old movie that she and her mother used to watch every time she was sick as a child. Even though she's a fully grown adult with her own children, she wishes she could still curl up on the sofa with her mom and have her mom take care of her. Now, though, her mother would just tell her to buck up and get on with it. Shelby looks up when the living room door opens and smiles at the sight of Santana in one of David's t'shirts, the t'shirt completely drowning the tiny girl.

"Hi," Santana murmurs, climbing onto Shelby's knee. A couple of weeks ago, this action would have shocked Shelby but after spending a week being sick together, Santana seems to have become really attached to her. Who knew being sick could be such a great bonding activity.

"Hi, honey. How are you feeling?" Shelby quietly asks, smoothing Santana's unruly bed hair.

"Okay," Santana whispers, snuggling against Shelby as the woman opens her robe and wraps Santana inside it, holding her close. "Are you still sick?"

"A little bit," Shelby nods. "I feel a lot better than I did though."

"Good," Santana states, leaning further into Shelby and silently turning her attention to the movie. "Your pajamas are fluffy," Santana murmurs, running the tips of her fingers across Shelby's fleece pajamas.

"Yeah, they are," Shelby smiles. "They're nice and warm, maybe we should get you a pair, huh?" Santana grins, nodding and resting her head on Shelby's shoulder. Shelby absent mindedly rubs circles onto Santana's back as she watches the movie, feeling Santana's head get a little heavier on her shoulder and knowing she's falling asleep. Shelby glances over at Sugar when the doorbell loudly echoes through the house, relieved that neither girl stirs. She carefully stands up, Santana still in her arms, and pads across the living room and into the hall. Unlocking the door as quietly as she can, Shelby pulls it open and smiles at Alma.

"Hey, come on it," she murmurs.

"How are you feeling?" Alma questions as she follows Shelby into the living room.

"Better. Still a little rough, though," Shelby answers quietly, laying Santana on the armchair and removing her robe to drape over her. "Let's go into the kitchen," she says, smiling when she notices the container of soup in Alma's hands. Alma nods, smiling down at each of the sleeping girls before leading the way to the kitchen. She motions for Shelby to sit down at the table and begins heating up the soup. "Thank you," Shelby smiles.

"It's no problem at all, dear. I remember all too well what it was like to have two sick children on your hands while being sick yourself, and I didn't have other kids to worry about," Alma explains, sitting down opposite Shelby while she waits for the soup to heat up.

"David's been great. I'm not used to having so much help," Shelby chuckles.

"What about your ex husband?" Alma asks gently.

"Hiram was always working, and since the divorce he rarely sees the kids. He and his partner have a little boy together so he seems to have lost interest in the children he already had," Shelby mumbles bitterly.

"I'm sorry," Alma says sincerely. "It's his loss," she adds softly. "You have three amazing kids, we all love them dearly, especially Santana. She adores all of you." Shelby smiles and nods.

"Yeah, we've really bonded recently. She's an incredible little girl, so smart."

"Too smart," Alma chuckles, "we'll need to keep a close eye on her when she's older."

"Yeah," Shelby laughs, "most definitely." The doorbell rings again and she sighs, frowning in confusion. "I have no idea who that could be, everyone we know will be at work or school."

"I'll get it, and then I'll be back to fix your soup. Go get settled in the living room and I'll get rid of them," Alma tells her, shooing her out of the kitchen. Shelby chuckles lightly and allows herself to be gently pushed into the living room. She's exhausted, if Alma wants to take care of her; she can. Santana is awake when Shelby walks back into the living room, and Shelby smiles kindly at her.

"The doorbell woke me up," Santana pouts, frowning deeply. Shelby juts her bottom lip out in a sympathetic pout and holds her arms out to her, smiling when Santana slides off of the armchair and walks across to Shelby. Shelby is confused when Santana eyes widen and she runs straight passed her. "Mommy!"

"Hi, baby girl!" Shelby turns around to see Glora, an older carbon copy of Santana in her living room, the woman hugging Santana tightly.

"Gloria, you can't just barge in here," Alma exclaims as she walks into the living room.

"You wouldn't let me in," Gloria shrugs, "and I wanted to see my little angel," she adds, tickling Santana and grinning when Santana giggles adorably, wriggling in her mother's arms in an attempt to excape her lithe fingers.

"Does David know you're here?" Shelby asks quietly.

"No," Gloria admits, "but it's not a big deal. I'll only be here a few minutes, just long enough for Santana to pack some clothes so that she can come have a sleepover with me."

"Really, mommy?" Santana gasps excitedly.

"Yeah, sweet girl, we're gonna have a lot of fun," Gloria assures her, placing Santana on her feet. "Go get dressed and grab some clothes," she tells her, sending Santana from the room with a playful swat.

"You can't just take her," Shelby states firmly, "not without David knowing."

"Well, then you tell him that _our_ daughter is with me tonight," Gloria replies coldly.

"Gloria, that's not how works. You know that. You can't just turn up whenever you choose," Alma tells her. "It's confusing for Santana and it's not fair to anyone."

"The only person that this little arrangement is unfair to, is me," Gloria argues. "I barely get to my little girl and it's upsetting to both me and Santana. I mean, just look how excited she got about spending the night with me."

"She's excited because you keep cancelling on her and you actually got off your ass and came to see her," Shelby retorts. "She's not going anywhere. Call David and arrange a day and a time like you're supposed to."

"Excuse me, she's _my_ daughter, not yours. _You_ do not get to tell when I can and cannot see her."

"She's not going," Alma states slowly and firmly. "When she comes back down here you can tell her that you made a mistake and then you will go about the correct way. There's a reason you weren't given custody," she adds, confusing Shelby. What's the reason?

"Mommy, I'm ready!" Santana yells, rushing down stairs with her small backpack badly packed with clothes and a pair of jeans on her legs, the girl still wearing the massive t'shirt. Gloria glares at Alma and Shelby before kneeling down in front of Santana.

"I gotta go, angel face. Mommy was breaking the rules by just turning up but I'm gonna call your daddy and we'll make plans for next weekend, okay?"

"No, mommy, I want to go with you," Santana mumbles, her bottom lip trembling.

"Mommy has to go, honey," Alma states softly, lifting Santana into her arms and wiping away the tears that leak down her little cheeks. "You'll see her soon," she promises.

"No!" Santana sobs, trying to squirm out of her grandmother's arms. Alma shoots Gloria a dark look and turns away from them, carrying the sobbing girl upstairs.

"Mommy?" Shelby whips around when she hears Sugar's voice. "What's happening?"

"Nothing, honey. You go on upstairs and lay down in my bed, okay?" Shelby murmurs soothingly, helping Sugar to her feet and shooing her upstairs. "You need to go," she snaps, turning her attention to Gloria.

"Fine, but if David thinks I'm going to allow some random woman to raise my child, he has another thing coming. You can expect a call from my lawyer," Gloria spits, turning on her heel and storming from the house, slamming the door loudly behind her. Shelby groans in frustration, leaning heavily against the door frame. What the hell had just happened? She reaches into the pocket of her pajama bottoms, pulling her cell phone out and dialling David's number with a sigh, it's going to be a long night.

_**To be continued...please review.**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**I do not own Glee or any of the original characters, It all belongs to RIB and Fox. Any characters you don't recognise are my own creations.**_

_**I apologize for the long wait, I have a lot of fics and too little time at the moment.**_

_**Thank you, N :)**_

_**R&R please.**_

Chapter 7

Noah is always being scolded for not paying enough attention in class, and for being completely oblivious to other people, often upsetting his sisters for making some sort of comment without reading the emotions in the room. Today, though, he's completely aware of the fact that something is wrong. Ever since Dave had answered his cell phone a half hour ago, he's know that something had happened at home. Dave had tried to act like something wasn't bothering him while they were on their way home, still talking to Noah about sports and blasting rock songs in the car, but Noah wasn't fooled. At all. Now, as they walk into the house, Noah knows that he was right. He can hear Santana crying upstairs and immediately looks up at Dave, silently asking him if he can go and see her.

"Come up with me, buddy," Dave murmurs, placing a hand on Noah's shoulder as they walk upstairs. Noah frowns as they get closer to Santana's bedroom, her cries growing louder. He hates hearing her sound so upset. They reach the top of the stairs to find Sugar hovering outside of Dave and Shelby's bedroom, the seven year old frowning deeply. "Hey, honey," David says gently, kneeling down next to her. "You're still sick, honey, you should be resting."

"Santana's upset. Mommy said a good big sister should look after her little sister," Sugar replies with a pout.

"And you do look after her, you're an awesome big sister," Dave reassures her as Alma comes out of the bedroom. "But you need to rest and get better, because you can't look after anyone if you don't get better, can you?"

"I guess," Sugar sighs. David smiles and straightens up, lifting Sugar into his arms and turning to face his mom,

"Hey, ma. Where's Rachel?"

"She's with my neighbours, she's playing with their daughter," Alma tells him, before turning her attention to Sugar. "Hi there, sweetheart. Let's get you into bed, huh?" she suggests with a kind smile. "Then I'll bring you some soup."

"I'll take her," David murmurs. "Noah, buddy, why don't you go into the bedroom. Tell Santana I'll be right there." Noah nods soberly, taking his role as the supportive big brother very seriously. David carries Sugar into the bedroom she shares with Rachel and sits her on the bed, pulling back the duvet and tucking her in as soon as she crawls under it. He sits down on the edge of the bed and places his hand on Sugar's head. She still feels extremely hot. "How are you feeling?"

"Really yucky," Sugar pouts. Dave frowns sympathetically,

"I'm sorry you're sick, I know it sucks," he tells her softly. "You want me to bring the TV from mine and your mommy's room in here?" David asks, chuckling lightly at Sugar's eager nod. "Alright, I'll go get it for you." Dave stands up and walks to the door,

"David?" He stops at the door, turning around with a kind and patient smile.

"How come Santana's mommy isn't around very much?" He sighs softly and walks back over to her, perching on the edge of the bed once again.

"Well, it's kind of hard to explain, sweetheart," David murmurs.

"Does Santana's mommy have a new family like my daddy does?" Sugar asks softly, and Dave is convinced that his heart just broke in half.

"Santana's mommy is always busy. Sometimes grown ups are silly, they don't always see when they have something beautiful in their lives. Just like your daddy doesn't see what he's missing by not spending time with you," David says gently.

"Because he's silly?"

"Exactly," David nods.

"I used to miss him, but I don't now," Sugar mumbles.

"Yeah?"

"Uh huh. 'Cause we've got you now." Dave smiles and leans down to kiss Sugar's forehead.

"That's right, and I'm not going anywhere. Y'all are stuck with me now."

"I love you, David."

"I love you, too, honey," David grins.

"Can you go get the tv now?" Sugar asks, causing David to chuckle lightly.

"Yes, ma'am." Dave stands up again and makes his way to his and Shelby's bedroom, finding Santana laying on the bed and crying into Shelby's chest. Shelby smiles weakly at him as he sits down next to them, Santana gazing up at him through tear filled, red rimmed eyes. She doesn't move out of Shelby's arms, though, which surprises both David and Shelby. David shares a smile with Shelby, he loves that Santana and Shelby have bonded so much recently. "Hi, baby girl. How are you doing?"

"I'm sad," Santana hiccups. "Did mommy break the rules again?" This shocks David. He hadn't realized that Santana had heard him talking about Gloria in the past, and he wishes he had been more careful. It's not fair that she has to hear things being said about her mother.

"Uh well, a little bit, baby girl. Mommy is supposed to check with me before she takes you anywhere," David murmurs, wondering if he's going to regret being honest about this at some point. He probably will.

"Is Mommy not allowed to see me?" Santana asks quietly, her little face curious and concerned.

"She is. Of course she is. You'll always be allowed to see your mommy," David reassures her. "It's just..uh," he sighs, "because you live with us, mommy just can't take you whenever she decides. I won't ever stop you from seeing her, though. It just has to be planned first." David glances up at Shelby and notices the slight disapproval on her face, she doesn't think he should be telling Santana this much. "But that's not something you should be worrying about, baby girl," he adds. "Your mommy, Shelby and I only worry about that. I know you wanted to go and stay with your mommy today, but you're sick and mommy couldn't look after your properly while you're sick."

"How come?" David falters, realizing he has said too much and he looks up at Shelby again, a desperate plea in his gaze. Shelby strokes Santana's hair soothingly and subtly nods.

"Well when you're sick you needs lots of attention, it's easier if you have more than one person looking after you. That's why your abuela came over today," Shelby explains.

"So my mommy can ask to see me soon?" Santana asks quietly, her brown eyes wide and hopeful.

"Yeah, of course. Your daddy will call her later just to talk to her, and when you're better I'm sure your mommy will call," Shelby states reassuringly, her voice soft and soothing. "Do you feel less sad now?"

"Uh huh," Santana nods, hugging Shelby as tightly as her little arms will allow.

"Why don't you go lie in Rachel's bed," David suggests. "I'm gonna take our tv into her and Sugar's room," he explains. Santana nods eagerly and scrambles out of bed, and practically skips out of David and Shelby's bedroom. David waits until he is sure that Santana is out of earshot before he turns to Shelby, "was she high?" Shelby sighs softly and shrugs.

"I dunno. She seemed pretty wired, but I dunno. You should ask your mom, she knows Gloria much better than I do," Shelby murmurs.

"I swear..if she was high..."

"Then we'll deal with it," Shelby interrupts. "Right now, all we should be worrying about is looking after Sugar and Santana."

"Gloria takes drugs?" David whips around to see Noah standing in the doorway with a frown on his face. Shit. He had forgotten that Noah came upstairs with him. "Is that why she needs your permission to see Santana?"

"Honey, keep your voice down," Shelby tells him seriously. "You need to make sure that you don't repeat what you just heard, alright?" She sighs when Noah just continues to frown. "I mean it, Noah, you will be in big trouble if you tell anyone. It will just upset everyone, and Santana is only four...she doesn't need to hear these things, alright?"

"Alright," Noah nods seriously. "I won't say anything."

"Thank you, sweetheart. I know this is confusing, but let David and I worry about things, buddy," Shelby states softly. Noah nods, setting his jaw as she turns away from his mom and David. "Well...fuck!" Shelby hisses.

"Yeah...fuck. Do you think he'll say anything?" David asks seriously, his eyes filled with concern.

"No, he knows when I'm being serious and he can keep a secret. If it had been Rachel who had overheard us...we'd be in trouble," Shelby remarks dryly. "We really need to be more careful in future. The kids are hearing too much that they shouldn't be, especially Santana."

"Yeah." Dave paces for a moment before sighing, "How are you feeling?"

"Ugh," Shelby shrugs. "I've been worse, I've also been much, much worse." David frowns and sits on the edge of the bed, placing his hand on Shelby's forehead.

"Okay, why don't I bring Santana and Sugar in here instead of taking the tv to them," he suggests. "That way the three of you can just rest. I'll take my mom home and bring Rachel back. There's no point in her staying there if I'm here now."

"Oh, man! Your day out with Noah..." Shelby frowns. "I'm sorry you guys had to come home early."

"It's okay," David shrugs. "It's not your fault, and we can tour the stadium another day...it's not going anywhere. The main thing is that, apart from the three of you being sick, everyone is okay. Yet another Gloria problem has been handled," he adds with a sigh.

"She said she's going to fight for custody," Shelby murmurs. If David is surprised by this comment, he doesn't show it.

"She'd have to pass a drugs test first. She's not fit to raise Santana, and no court is gonna tell her she is," David states quietly, his features dark. "If she wants to waste her time and money fighting a losing battle, then she can."

"What about Santana?" Shelby questions softly.

"We'll just have to protect her as best as we can."

_**To be continued... A shorter chapter than I thought it would be, but I like where I've ended it so I hope you guys like it. The next chapter will be more fluffy and Rachel will be making a new friend :) Let me know what you think of the update. Thanks for reading!**_


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